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Hippodrome Theatre
Photo from the Daniel Wright collection.
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100 E Seventh St
Okmulgee OK
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| Record #12128 |
Opened: October 1, 1920
Closed: December 31, 1933
Demolished: Yes (date unknown)
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Capacity: 2200 seats
Architect(s): John Eberson
Architectural Style(s):
National Register:
Current Organ: none |
| Also Known As: |
Information for this tour was contributed by Daniel Wright. The Hippodrome Theatre in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, opened on October 1, 1920, a few weeks after the Orpheum. They were in a race to see who could get open first. The Hippodrome architect was the noted John Eberson.
The Hippodrome had a swimming pool, which does survive to this day. After the building burned, a department store was constructed on the site. Since the pool was in the basement which was reused it is still there. Although it has not been in service since the theater's destruction some 70 years ago when it burned on December 31, 1933, during a New Years Eve preview.
The building, at Seventh and Grand, was 100 feet by 140 feet, and the auditorium seated 2200. Its stage opening was 60-ft. wide. For a few months, it was the largest movie theatre west of the Mississippi. It was, and still is, the largest movie theatre ever to have been built in Oklahoma.
Ramps, rather than stairways, made it easier for large audiences to navigate through the building. The Hippodrome boasted from the beginning that it had air conditioning.
The Hippodrome had a ballroom above its auditorium that accommodated 1500 dancers. The ballroom's street entrance was on the north side, at the east end of the building. The bandstand was over the refreshment bar. Doors opened from the ballroom to a roof garden, for fresh air and romancing.
Postcards
Images remain the property of the Member and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Member. |
Postcards from the Daniel Wright collection.
65 KB 625x406 |
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Last featured 1/20/2005. Last edited 9/17/2022.
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